Tuesday 14 July 2009
Today, I looked up another friend to deliver some London Almond cookies to her. She cooked us dinner - masak lemak sayur dan ayam panggang - Best betul! Mana-mana pegi, makan mesti Melayu jugak.
At the tube station, I saw big posters written "Go Green, Think Green", all in the quest to make this world a better place to live. At the Richard Dimbleby Lecture last week (7 July), Prince Charles was reported to support green issues, saying that materialism and the British "consumerist" society has brought the world close to environmental collapse. He said that everyone knows the truth, but chooses to ignore. On the Malaysian front too, green issues are affecting our palm oil industry. Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron, CEO of Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), bravely commented on the Industry's quest for sustainability and environmental protection. He said,"Right now, one part of the planet consumes and pollutes in its lavish lifestyle, while another part is forced to remain undeveloped and to preserve their forests for future generation". To me, everyone of us in this planet has a responsibilty to preserve our Mother Earth in our own little way, even if we bother not to throw out rubbish while driving! Little things mean alot.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
McDonald's - A Good Patron of Palm Oil
London Eye
Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
Monday 13 July 2009
Another cluster of tourist attractions in Great Britain is the Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the surrounding area, including the London Eye. It was a hot day yesterday, averaging 22 degrees centigrade. My family had fun entertaining our little grandson whom we let loose along the River Thames where people were boarding the boats to experience the Thames River Cruise.
We had lunch at Queen's Walk around the premises of the London Eye. Mc D -Macdonald's- was there at the strategic spot where tourists could easily take a bite after the long leisurely walk from WestMinster Abbey before boarding the London Eye platform to view the prolific city.
I read in the London Paper that this fast-food giant McDonald's is to move its European Headquarters from London to Geneva, Switzerland to take advantage of more favourable tax laws in Switzerland. Whatever it is, I hope McD will not change its preference for palm oil in frying its burgers and chips. McD has long been a patron of Malaysian palm oil because of palm oil's good frying characteristics.
Fish and Chips
Sunday 12 July 2009
We went sightseeing in the afternoon since the English weather promised us a good one at 21 degrees centigrade. We visited the London Tower and Tower Bridge, these are beautiful monuments of great architectural value and recognised as one of the World Heritage Sites. Built around 1700, the Tower was one of the Royal Palaces for the King of England at that time. We had lunch English style - Fish and Chips. I think they must use palm oil as their frying oil. It tasted real great. R&D also shows that chips are best fried in palm olein.
The English are very good at restoration works and one side of the Tower Bridge was being restored and repaired when we visited the site. We Malaysians must learn from the British the importance of preservation and restoration of historical buildings in our country. Besides being a tourist attraction, these buildings and monuments would be the proud reminders of our civilization, our history and our heritage for our younger generation. As a Malaysian, and a Malaccan for that matter, I am proud Malacca and Penang were recently being given the status of World Heritage Sites, at par with the London Tower, Ha Long Bay, the Pyramids etc,etc.
We went sightseeing in the afternoon since the English weather promised us a good one at 21 degrees centigrade. We visited the London Tower and Tower Bridge, these are beautiful monuments of great architectural value and recognised as one of the World Heritage Sites. Built around 1700, the Tower was one of the Royal Palaces for the King of England at that time. We had lunch English style - Fish and Chips. I think they must use palm oil as their frying oil. It tasted real great. R&D also shows that chips are best fried in palm olein.
The English are very good at restoration works and one side of the Tower Bridge was being restored and repaired when we visited the site. We Malaysians must learn from the British the importance of preservation and restoration of historical buildings in our country. Besides being a tourist attraction, these buildings and monuments would be the proud reminders of our civilization, our history and our heritage for our younger generation. As a Malaysian, and a Malaccan for that matter, I am proud Malacca and Penang were recently being given the status of World Heritage Sites, at par with the London Tower, Ha Long Bay, the Pyramids etc,etc.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Palm Oil is Halal
12 July 2009
Today, I went to Shepherd's Bush market to replenish our supply of halal meat - chicken and beef. Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful. It refers to things permitted by our Shariah law without punishment imposed on the doer. It is usually used to describe something that a Muslim is permitted to engage in eg. eat, drink or use.
Halal to eat reminds me of the label "kosher", a term used to describe palm oil products in the United States and other non-Muslim countries. Once these products are labelled above, they are assured of the method of processing according to Muslim rites, ie suci (meaning clean).
Today, I went to Shepherd's Bush market to replenish our supply of halal meat - chicken and beef. Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful. It refers to things permitted by our Shariah law without punishment imposed on the doer. It is usually used to describe something that a Muslim is permitted to engage in eg. eat, drink or use.
Halal to eat reminds me of the label "kosher", a term used to describe palm oil products in the United States and other non-Muslim countries. Once these products are labelled above, they are assured of the method of processing according to Muslim rites, ie suci (meaning clean).
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Saturday 11 July 2009
Saturday is a good day to look up Portobello - the world's largest antiques market. Historically speaking, London has been an influential city for two millenia and its history goes back to the founding by the Romans. Therefore, it is only natural that London has become a depository of international antiques. All antique lovers would browse away the day in Portobello's galleries and arcades. There is an astonishing variety of antiques and collectables from all around the world and dating back from the Roman times to 1960's.
People from all races jam the streets of Portobello every Saturday, trying to acquire bits and pieces of history left by their forefathers. I saw some old *Malacca tiles, being remade into functional items such as wall hangings or just being dispalyed as wall decoration. Such items are actually available at my gift boutique at blog http://www.tulengiftshop.blogspot.com/
*The antique tiles from Malacca actually originate from Great Britain. I saw 'Made in England stamped at the back of the tiles.However, some did come from Japan by my observation.
Saturday is a good day to look up Portobello - the world's largest antiques market. Historically speaking, London has been an influential city for two millenia and its history goes back to the founding by the Romans. Therefore, it is only natural that London has become a depository of international antiques. All antique lovers would browse away the day in Portobello's galleries and arcades. There is an astonishing variety of antiques and collectables from all around the world and dating back from the Roman times to 1960's.
People from all races jam the streets of Portobello every Saturday, trying to acquire bits and pieces of history left by their forefathers. I saw some old *Malacca tiles, being remade into functional items such as wall hangings or just being dispalyed as wall decoration. Such items are actually available at my gift boutique at blog http://www.tulengiftshop.blogspot.com/
*The antique tiles from Malacca actually originate from Great Britain. I saw 'Made in England stamped at the back of the tiles.However, some did come from Japan by my observation.
Friday 10 July 2009
Today, my family and I were invited for lunch at the home of my my old schoolmate , Chee Khan Neo, who had settled down in the UK since early 1970's. The whole family, comprising Michael and Elly Wong and their two daughters are now permanent residents (PR) of UK. The menu was a very special one, with chicken curry, fresh salmon, prawns, fried asparagus and a delicious fresh garden salad, served with steamed white Bhasmathi rice. Michael said it is a special menu for a special reunion, considering we have not met each other since 43 years ago when Elly moved to UK to start her nursing career.
Both Michael and Elly, I found out later, are descendants of the Nyonya and Baba heritage, the former from Penang and the latter from Malacca. Both Penang, Malacca and Singapore were the former states of the Straits Settlements, a legacy left by the British when they governed the country beginning 1800s.
It was a beautiful reunion indeed, with my telling Elly what had happened to our friends. It was easily remembered because Elly brought out the old school photos since 1961 as a source of reference!
Today, my family and I were invited for lunch at the home of my my old schoolmate , Chee Khan Neo, who had settled down in the UK since early 1970's. The whole family, comprising Michael and Elly Wong and their two daughters are now permanent residents (PR) of UK. The menu was a very special one, with chicken curry, fresh salmon, prawns, fried asparagus and a delicious fresh garden salad, served with steamed white Bhasmathi rice. Michael said it is a special menu for a special reunion, considering we have not met each other since 43 years ago when Elly moved to UK to start her nursing career.
Both Michael and Elly, I found out later, are descendants of the Nyonya and Baba heritage, the former from Penang and the latter from Malacca. Both Penang, Malacca and Singapore were the former states of the Straits Settlements, a legacy left by the British when they governed the country beginning 1800s.
It was a beautiful reunion indeed, with my telling Elly what had happened to our friends. It was easily remembered because Elly brought out the old school photos since 1961 as a source of reference!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday 9 July 2009
Today my family and I went to the more popular tourist attractions in London - Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden. More so to familiarise my 2 1/2 year-old grandson , Iman Hezrin, with these landmarks of British greatness. Yes, the British race, for whatever other people may say and think, had done great things for our country Malaysia, before we gained our national independence in 1957. They brought development to then Malaya by starting ( some people say they exploited) the tin industry, then the rubber and palm oil industry of the country. We must not forget they brought the first few seeds of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) and the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) from Africa to headstart the econonomic development of Malaysia. Even though the oil palm was brought in and planted initially as avenue trees in 1870s, it turned out to be a great investment opportunity and the oil palm industry has always remained as one of the greatest income revenue earner for the country, next to petroleum.
For me, revisiting these places is just a trip down memory lane. I was here in 1975-1977 to do my masters at Loughborough University. Then in 1982, I went for a short course on Agricultural Information organised by Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International (CABI). Ten years later in 1992, I went again on a familiarization visit to the great museums in the UK to harvest ideas for the Palm Information Centre that I built for MPOB. It was at the Natural History Museum that I managed to piece together my thoughts on the look and feel of the Centre - an integrated approach of providing palm oil information to the world. I also took a trip to the Palm House in Kew Gardens to view the early oil palm trees planted there, one of which was brought to Malaysia that started the industry in our country.
Today my family and I went to the more popular tourist attractions in London - Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden. More so to familiarise my 2 1/2 year-old grandson , Iman Hezrin, with these landmarks of British greatness. Yes, the British race, for whatever other people may say and think, had done great things for our country Malaysia, before we gained our national independence in 1957. They brought development to then Malaya by starting ( some people say they exploited) the tin industry, then the rubber and palm oil industry of the country. We must not forget they brought the first few seeds of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) and the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) from Africa to headstart the econonomic development of Malaysia. Even though the oil palm was brought in and planted initially as avenue trees in 1870s, it turned out to be a great investment opportunity and the oil palm industry has always remained as one of the greatest income revenue earner for the country, next to petroleum.
For me, revisiting these places is just a trip down memory lane. I was here in 1975-1977 to do my masters at Loughborough University. Then in 1982, I went for a short course on Agricultural Information organised by Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International (CABI). Ten years later in 1992, I went again on a familiarization visit to the great museums in the UK to harvest ideas for the Palm Information Centre that I built for MPOB. It was at the Natural History Museum that I managed to piece together my thoughts on the look and feel of the Centre - an integrated approach of providing palm oil information to the world. I also took a trip to the Palm House in Kew Gardens to view the early oil palm trees planted there, one of which was brought to Malaysia that started the industry in our country.
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